Mower decks used in cutting grass and similar vegetation typically are provided with one or more gauge wheels which support them at a predetermined space above the ground and serve to prevent scalping or control the height of cut. The wheel supports often include a bracket attached to the skirt of a deck, an arm pivotally mounted on the bracket, a wheel carried on the arm and means for vertically adjusting the arm with respect to the bracket.
Frequently the brackets are generally flat plates which are rigidly attached to the downwardly extending skirt and project outwardly therefrom. The arms are commonly elongated straps which are then supported on a bracket pivot structure for swinging movement adjacent to and parallel with the bracket. At the free end of the arm is carried the gauge wheel. Various types of structures have then been used to secure the arm with the bracket in a plurality of vertical positions to provide a plurality of height of cut settings.
When gauge wheel arms are supported in this manner, the arm and its pivotal mounting to the bracket can be subjected to twisting forces since the arm and wheel are supported in a cantilevered fashion from one side of the bracket.